Knitted fabric and method of making the same



Dec, 3, 1929 Wu. WESSELER v KNITTED FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAMEFiled March .1. 1921 z'sh etsshee-t l Dec. 3, 1929. w. J. WESSELEZRYKNITTED FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed March 1, 1921 2Sheets-Sheet 2 X INVENTOR.

Patented Dec. 3, 1929 UNITED STATES wmtmm'm'wnssnmn, or msr ctnvmmnn,onio KNITTED FAIQBIC AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME 'Application filedMarch 1,

Knitting as ordinarily performed at the 1 present time is carried onwith a single yarn supply or where a plurality of yarns are used in theknittin operation they are mere (lili- 5 plications of t e single arntype of machine,

or are em loyed in the various forms of frame mac ines, traverse warpmachines and the like. In rotary knitting they are also used asauxiliary yarns for facing, reinforcing, striping, and plating.

It has not been the practice, however in any knitting operation,particularly in rotary knitting, to employ a plurality of yarns in sucha manner that each succeeding needle acts upon the yarn cast off by thepreceding needle. It therefore results that in the usual rotary knittingoperations, the needles hold the stitches for one revolution, a secondrow of stitches being formed upon the completion of the first row andthus the limit of loop size is governed by the size of the needles 1employed, the loops necessarily being of a size to permit of thewithdrawal of the needles therefrom. 1

Numerous expedients such as'the use of spring needles and sliding latchneedles have been adopted to make stitches or loops of the re uisitedegree of fineness for many. special knitted articles. Likewise in a fewinstances heavy yarn tension has resulted in loop contraction uponcasting off.

The object of my invention is to produce a knitted fabric having loopsof any desired size irrespective of the knitting instrumentalitiesemployed, and to improve the art ofknitting in the several respectsindicated in the followingdescrip'tion and claims.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and relatedends, the inventionthen consists of the fabric and the method or steps for producing thesame hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out inthe'claims, the annexed drawmgs and'the following description settingforth in detail certain means and mode of carrying out the invention,such disclosed means and mode illustrating, however, but several of thevarious ways in which the principle of the invention may be used,

and the fabric produced.

In said annexed drawings 'sta 1921. Serial no; 48,803.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one ty 0 of apparatus suitable forproducing the fa ricand employing themethod comprised in my invention;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic top planview of the yarn arrangement shown inFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of the ap paratus shown in Fi ure '1;

Figures 4, 5, 6, and? are detail views showing the loop drawingoperation in its several igure 8 is a diagrammatic view .of the usualfabric formed in an ordinary knitting operation and to which a sectionof fabric, made by the herein-disclosed method, may correspond in loopstructure after being drawn tight, although differently related to theforming needles;

Figs. 9, 10, and 11, are detail views show-. ing the several stages ofdrawing through a loop from below;

. Fi 12 is a developed diagrammaticview showing the relation of theloops of the warp fabric to the pins;

Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic view showing in spaced relation the loops andyarns shown in Fig. 2; and

Figs. 14, 15, and 16, are diagrammatic views showing the serveral stagesof the knitting operation where an extra yarn is supplied for each pin'or needle.

As shown i Figure 1 of the drawing, a spool, 1, of the usual type ofsimple knitting apparatus, having a central aperture, 2, is providedupon its upper end with aplurality of pins, 3, shown in 'the drawingasfour in number. Over these are looped, respectively, a'series of fouryarns, L5, 6, and 7, all fastened together at one. end, and there joinedto a fifth yarn, 8, (see Fi re 3) A weight, 9, may be attached to t ejunction or any 1 suitable take-up mechanism may be connected thereto. lThe yarn, 8, is designed to serve as a means of freeing the loop overone of. the pins from any fastening function and permit it to bemanipulated to draw the loop cast off from the pin or needle, whicheverinstrumentality happens to be employed, to any size desired inthefinished fabric. The first new loop drawIr-tight by tensioning itdirectly or by holding it and tensioning it as it is looped over thepin, 03, through the casting off of the loop, 5, thereon. The yarn, 5,is then similarly treated with respect to loop 6 of the .yarn, 6, andthe pin, a,

and the loop 7 of the yarn, 7, is in turn likewise cast off over thepin, 12, leaving the yarn, 6, thereon. The circuit of the spool-is thuscompleted and the yarn, 7, is then advanced to the position held y theyarn, 4, until it was displaced by the yarn, 8, which it now displacesallowing the yarn, 8, to be looped next over the pin, (2, as 1tsupplants the loop of yarn, 4, thereon. Thus it will be noted that witheach cycle of operations the yarns are each advanced one pin in thedirection of knitting. The manner of placing a new'loop on a pin isshown in Figs. 4 to 7 of the drawing. The new yarn A is laid against theoutsideof the pin above the looped yarn B, which is lifted over the yarnA and the adjacent pin by the instrument 11 which is inserted from abovebetween the yarns A and B as shown in Fig. 4. The loop of the yarn B isthus cast off as is shown in Fig. 5, and the instrument/11 is withdrawn.The yarns will then assume the position shown in Fig. 6, after whichtension is applied to the yarn B to draw its loop into knotted positionas is shown in Fig. 7, and

although the fabricis warp fabric the loopswill be drawn so closelytogether that the fabric will have the appearance and substantially theloop structure of weft type f fabric. The manner in which the fabric isrelated to the several pins is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 12.

The loops may be cast off over the yarn or the new yarn may be drawnthrough from below the loop on .the pin, and then placed over the pinfrom above, as is shown in Figs. 9, 10, and 11, or some stitches, orloops, may

\ be made in one direction and some in the other. Thus a ribbed effectmay be obtained or a plain effect and if desired the material afterknitting may be drawn through to present the other side.

While a particular circular knitting oper-;

ation has been described, it is not desired to limit the invention tothat special type of knitting, nor are the stitches mentioned the onlyones capable of being formed with the use of the principle of myinvention:

Obviously I may employ an extra yarn for each of the pins and form theloops over each as one stage of the general operation, if andfdraw theloops tight as the second stage of said operation. The tensioning maythus be accomplished by opposing the pulls upon be thus produced. Such aloo the steps for forming and castino off from the several diametricallyopposite yarns the fabric beingmaintained in a central position withinthe spool. This method of knitting is shown diagrammatically in Figs. 14to 16, inclusive, in which loops of the yarns a: are substituted on theneedles for the loops of the yarns 3 which then may be drawn tight as anindependent operation. The fabric will be-.supported by one set of yarnsunder tension while the other set is casting off and the fabric is thusdirectly supported at substantially every stage of the operation. Theindividual tensioning of the individual yarns permits a very tight knotbeing formed with a very closely knitted fabric as a result.

The loops of the fabric are each formed of a single yarn similar to thefabric roduced .in ordinary circular knitting an not of crossed doubledyarns in each loop as in other ty es of fabric.

j lither a take-u or weight'may be used to draw down the nished fabric,and clamping means may be used to grip each of the yarns during thetensioning operation. lVhen but a single extra yarn is used, the fabricmay be pulled by the operator with one hand and the yarn from the castoff loop with the other hand, and a very tight loopy may be properlydesignated a needle-tig t or knotted loop, inasmuch as it would be onethrough which a forming needle could not be drawn and in'fact it mightbe so tightly drawn that no practical knitting instrument could beforced therethrough however finely constructed.

Other forms may be employed embodying the features of my inventioninstead of the one here explained, changebeing made in the 'orm orconstruction, provided the fabric be produced, or the elements stated byany of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated elements beemployed, whether produced by my preferred method or by others embodyingsteps equivalent to those stated in the following claims.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as myinvention 1. A method of knitting which comprises using at least oneyarn more than the number of loops in a single course of the fabricproduced, and substituting upon the needles forming the 100 s, the extrayarn so as to leave free the yarn o the cast off loops for drawing thesaid loops to an desired size.

2. A method of it-ting which comprises loops upon a plurality ofknitting elements from one series of yarns, said knitting elements theloops from a second series of yarns, and drawing the yarns of the secondseries to orm said cast off loopsof any desired size.

3. A method of knitting which comprises the steps of forming loops upona plurality.

and casting ofi from said knitting elements the loops from a secondseries of yarns, and drawing the yarns of the second series of yarnsduring the process of forming the next I succeeding series of loops, toform said cast ofl loops of any desired size. 4. A method of knittingwhich comprises the steps of forming loops upon a plurality of knittingelements from one series of yarns, and casting 01? from saidknittingelements the loops of a second series of yarns; holding thefabric, and drawing the yarns of the sec ond series to knot tightly eachof said cast ofi loops.

- 5. The method of knitting a fabric which comprises using a pluralityof alternately working and idle yarns, the idle yarns being impaled inloops upon the needles and supporting the finished fabric, and theWorkingyarns forming new loops and serving to tighten simultaneouslytheir adjacent cast off loop sections formed at a prior stage of theknitting operation.

6. A method of knitting single yarn loop tubular fabric with an extrasubstitute yarn for each knitting element, which includes the step ofsimultaneously drawing the yarns of cast off loops upon diametricallyopposlte sides of the freely suspended fabric so as 3 to bring the loopsto finished size at an intermediate point between the yarns subjected tosuch opposing tension.

7. A single yarn loop knitted fabric made of a series of single yarnloops, formed upon a plurality of knitting elements from a series ofyarns and at least one yarn more than the number of loops in a singlecourse of the fabric produced, each loop of said series having a loop ofan extra yarn substituted on the knitting element while the cast-offyarn is drawn tight, and each yarn of the cast-01f loop in its turnbein'g substituted as an extra y'arn loop for the next adjacent yarnloop of said series on the succeeding knitting element. 8. A single yarnloop knitted fabric made of a series of single yarn loops formed upon aplurality of knitting elements from one series of yarns, and over whichrespective loops of a second series of yarns are cast-oil and drawntight, each respective yarn and loop series being alternately positionedon the a knitting elements.

Signed by me, this 1st day March, 1921.

I J WESSELER.

